Western Michigan University ScholarWorks at WMU Master's Theses Graduate College 8-1977 A Survey of the Relationship between Rhetoric and Music Robert Stephen Brown Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses Part of the Music Commons Recommended Citation Brown, Robert Stephen, "A Survey of the Relationship between Rhetoric and Music" (1977). Master's Theses. 2253. https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/2253 This Masters Thesis-Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate College at ScholarWorks at WMU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at WMU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A SURVEY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RHETORIC AND MUSIC by Robert Stephen Brown A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College in partial fulfillment of the Dsgree of Master of Music Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, Michigan August 1977 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PREFACE This thesis is the result of a two-year study of the literary- rhetorical tradition and its relationship to music, a relationship which ultimately- led to the Baroque doctrine of the affections. Rhetoric, in the ancient and non-pe jorativs sense, is a subject about which most per­ sons in this country know very little ; in modern times it appears to be reserved for classical scholars. A wealth of information is available, however, and in the first two chapters of this study an attempt is made to capsulize this history of rhetoric for the non-rhetorician and especial­ ly the musician. As is noted elsewhere, though, the history of rhetoric is indeed the history of Western civilization; almost everything one knows of that subject may be called upon in order to truly appreciate the his­ tory of rhetoric. The third chapter attempts to draw parallels and dis­ cuss relationships between that history and the history of musical theory and practice from ancient times through the Enlightenment, when rhetoric as an aesthetic tool lost its validity. It is hoped that this study will be the basis for further relational work, for these relations are among the most misunderstood concepts in music history. I would like to thank my advisor and friend, Dr. David Sheldon, who proposed this study, guided my research, answered my questions, and pro­ vided an atmosphere conducive to serious thought. I would also like to thank Dr. Joan Boucher, who aided in my assimilation of medieval and Ren­ aissance culture, helped in the translations of material in French and Latin, and otherwise freely gave of her time and support. i i Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INFORMATION TO USERS This material was produced frostsb microfilm copy of the original document. While the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the original submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help you understand markings or patterns which may appear oi > this reproduction. 1. The sign or "target" for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is "Missing Page(s)". If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. 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The majority of users indicate that the textual content is of greatest value, however, a somewhat higher quality reproduction could be made from "photographs" if essential to the understanding of the dissertation. Silver prints of "photographs" may be ordered at additional charge by writing the Order Department, giving the catalog number, title, author and specific pages you wish reproduced. 5. PLEASE NOTE: Some pages may have indistinct print. Filmed as received. University Microfilms International 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 USA St. John’s Road, Tyler’s Green High Wycombe, Bucks, England HP10 8HR Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission MASTERS THESIS 13-10,447 BROW, Robert Stephen, 1952- A SURVEY OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RHETORIC AND MUSIC. Western Michigan University, M.M., 1977 Music Xerox University Microfilms,Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. 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TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL RHETORIC 1 Corax and the Invention of Rhetoric • « . » 1 Gorgias, Isocrates, and Fiato 3 Aristotle • ........................ ••••••••• S Rhetoric Between A risto tle and Cicero • « • 15 Cicero ................................... 17 Quintilian and the Second Sophistic • • • • 23 Augustine ................. •••••••••••• 27 Martiaaus Capella and the Seven Liberal Arts ••••«•••••»••••••• 29 The Shift From Rhetorics to Djalectlca • • 31 I I RENAISSANCE AND BAROQUE RHETORIC 35 The Beginnings of Modem Rhetorical Theory •••«••••••••••••• 35 Hiiman< am ••••••••••••••••• 40 Neoplatonism ••••••••••••••• 52 Baroque Trends with Origins in the Renaissance •••••••••••••«• 55 Renaissance Rhetorical Treatises • * . • • 59 Rami am ••••*••••••••••••• 62 Latin Syntax ................................... 71 The New A tticism •••••••••••«• 74 Seventeenth-Century French Rhetoric • • • • SO Descartes •« •••••••••• S4 iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. i v Fort Royal • .....•••••••••• 95 Style Coupe ........................................................101 OHfeS M B E S l....................................... 104 Lamy ••••••••••«.•«••••• 109 The Anti-Ciceroni an Movement in Italy . 117 Summary ................... • ••••••••••• 123 I I I RHETORICAL INFLUENCES ON MUSICAL THOUGHT 128 Music in Ancient Greece ..•••••««• 128 Musical Thought in the Middle Ages • . 134 Mimesis ..140 The Humanist Ideal in Music Theory • . 144 Dufay, Oekegham, and Josquin •••«••. 150 Musica R e s e r v a ta ........................... ••••••154 Zarlino ••••••••.•«.•••... 160 Lasso and Wert .•••...•••«••• 165 French Speculation on Music in the Sixteenth Century •••••••••••• 167 ...........................................................170 G alilei and Monody ••••••••.••• 173 Mersenne ••••••••«*••••••• 183 French Opera: Racine, Lully, and Lecerf .188 Rameau ............................. .......... 194 The Influence of French Theory on Germany >•»••••••••••.••• 201 Heinichen • o ................... • ••«••••• 203 Mattheson ••••• .................... •••••• 209 Conclusion •••••••••.•....• 216 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPENDIX: EIGHT DIVISIONS OF RHETORIC 220 The Divisions of Rhetoric In the Rhetorics, ad Herennimn «••••••••••••• 220 Elocutionls Virtutes et Vitia ••••••• 221 Quintilian's Division of Elocutio into Tropes and Schemes ••««•••••••222 Trapesuntius' Division of Rhetoric • • • • 223 Tabula D ivisionis Locrum of Bartholomew Latomus. a fte r Rodolphus Agricola • • • • 224 Ramus' Division of the Places of Dialectic 225 The Ramistic Division of Rhetoric by Fraunce .................... 226 Scaliger's Division of the Figures of Rhetoric • •••••••«••••••* 227 BIBLIOGRAPHY 228 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL RHETORIC Corax and the Invention of Rhetoric Rhetoric, "the systematic analysis of human discourse for the purpose of adducing useful precepts for future discourse .*’1 is one of the oldest disciplines in the Western world. At the same time, it appears that the ancient Greeks were the only civilization which en­ deavored to analyze the ways in which human beings communicate with each other, for example, there is no evidence to suggest an interest in rhetoric in the ancient civilizations of Babylon or Egypt, and 2 neither Africa nor Asia has produced a rhetoric to this day. Greece is, therefore, the birthplace of the art of discourse, which includes not only rh eto ric but also logic and grammar. A con­ siderable body of indirect evidence indicates that a rhetorical con­ sciousness developed in Greece long before textbooks on the subject were written. Homer's Iliad, written well before 700 B.C., contains many carefully organized "orations” that occur either in councils of warriors or in debates between men and between gods.^ 1 Murphy, James J . (e d .), A Synoptic History gf C lassical SheJjoj&g. New York: Random House, 1972, 3* 2ib id . %ee, for instance, Combellack, Frederick M., "Speakers and Scepters in Homer." C lassical Journal. XLIII